The airer mistake you’re making when drying wet washing inside & it’s the reason your clothes smell musty

IT’S that time of year again. 

As the weather turns and the rain sets in, drying laundry outside becomes a challenge, and our homes become a sea of clothes airers.

But if you’ve noticed that your freshly washed clothes are coming off the airer with a strange, musty smell, you’re not alone. 

According to cleaning expert Ann Russell, a.k.a. ‘annrussell03‘ on TikTok, the problem isn’t with your washing machine – it’s with how you’re hanging your clothes.

Ann reveals that the most common mistake people make is simply tossing and bunching clothes onto the airer. 

She explains that when clothes are “all twisted and here where it’s all bunched up,” the air is unable to get to the fabric. 

This dampness becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, which is the culprit behind that unpleasant musty odour. 

As Ann points out, if you do that and then put it somewhere really warm as “all this smooth fabric will be dry and it will still be damp in all those bits.”

Luckily, the solution is simple. 

The secret to fresh-smelling clothes is to ensure the air can get to every part of the fabric.

Ann advises that when you hang things on an airer like that, “shake them out and hang them smoothly.” 

For larger items, like a long t-shirt or towel, she suggests folding it “in half top to bottom so it could lay smoothly.” 

For bulkier items like sweatshirts, Ann recommends putting it on a coat hanger and the wire ones are “great” for it. 

She suggests swivel the hooks lightly and hang them off door frames but don’t bunch them up so the air can get to them.

To speed up the process even more, Ann suggests putting “a fan, not a hot fan, just an indoor wind” on the floor near the airer.

Ann’s video has gained 432.7k views and 297 comments after just three days of being shared on TikTok.

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One wrote: “I bought a 2L electrical dehumidifier unit that I sit close to my airer, game changer coming into this time of year.”

A second added: “Heated airer changed my life.”

Ann has previously shared her top tips for saving money on household chores, with a focus on cutting down laundry costs.

She explains how simple swaps can save you hundreds of pounds a year on your bills.

Cutting Laundry Costs

To save money on laundry detergent, Ann advises swapping expensive, name-brand products for cheaper, own-brand alternatives.

“Persil’s non bio detergent works out at around 14p per wash, but Lidls non bio detergent is half the price at 6p per load,” she says.

“If you do four loads a week that can save you nearly £125 a year.”

You can make further savings by reducing the amount of detergent you use.

Ann suggests cutting the amount in half and adding a spoonful of soda crystals to your wash.

She notes: “The soda crystals soften the water and acts as a mild degreaser helping make a smaller amount of detergent go further and saving you another £60 a year.”

Additionally, lowering the temperature of your wash can lead to significant savings.

Ann says: “Modern detergents are designed to work well at very low temperatures. Swap your 40 degree wash for a 20 degree cycle.”

For tough stains, she recommends pre-treating them by diluting laundry liquid in water and rubbing it into the mark before washing.

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As for laundry softeners and scent beads, Ann advises skipping them entirely. “buy a nice perfume instead,” she says if you want your clothes to smell fresh.

Ditch the Tumble Dryer

With the rising cost of energy, tumble dryers are becoming a major expense, potentially costing over £400 a year to use just three times a week.

Instead, Ann recommends using a clothes airer combined with a simple fan.

She says: “A good tip to dry an airing rack of stuff is to position an ordinary cooling fan towards it; it keeps the damp air moving away quickly and costs substantially less than using a dryer.”